Blog | Page 3 of 12 | Simplifying DIY Design

6 Easy Canva Design Tips + Tricks Every Blogger Should Know About

June 17, 2020 by karafidd 15 Comments

Are you ready to learn some amazing game-changing Canva hacks? These tips and tricks will save you so much time and help make designing in Canva easier than ever!!

Want to skip the reading and get my Canva Tips Cheatsheet? Click right here to download the cheatsheet located in our Design Vault! You’ll get instant access to this cheatsheet along with FREE design templates, tutorials, and other tools to help with design!

GET ACCESS TO THE CANVA TRICKS CHEATSHEET!

Canva can be an amazing design tool for any online business owner.

However, when I first started using Canva I felt really limited. I remember making a babysitter info printable and I just wanted to make a simple LINE that didn’t have any fancy things on the end of it.. just a simple line!

Over the years I’ve come up with tons of tricks for Canva and since then I’ve been able to create everything from full workbooks, journals, course slide decks, and so much more using this tool. No more feelings of limitations!

It just takes a little creative thinking!

I have an awesome audience of people that love Canva and a great Facebook group of bloggers invested in mastering their design skills. The benefit of this is I know when people have frequent questions about how to do certain things!

This post is about the most COMMON questions I get about designing in Canva and the tricks for making the program even easier to use and more versatile for any blogger 🙂

Trick #1: Copy and Paste

This is easily the most common thing that’s asked: how do you copy and paste between different designs.

Copy and paste is probably the single most often used keyboard shortcut that I use. I use it ALL THE TIME and it makes my life so much easier. I often have multiple tabs open on my browser and I’m copying and pasting from tab to tab. This helps me save time and stay consistent with my designs.

Anyway, copying and pasting is super easy.

First, you just click off to the side and drag your mouse over whatever you want to copy.

Note: If you accidentally select more objects then you meant to, you can hold the shift key down and click on anything you want to de-select.

Then, use your keyboard shortcuts for copy (Ctrl/Command+C).

Next, open whatever document you want to be able to paste this into.

You can also paste it in the same document (on the same, or different, pages). I do this a lot when I’m creating a workbook so that I can keep the border, layout, and headers consistent. This also helps me design much faster.

To paste, simply use your keyboard shortcuts again (Ctrl/Command+V).

Super simple!

If you don’t want to use keyboard shortcuts, you can also right click your mouse to open up a menu that has copy and paste options.

Also, the header templates in that picture example are available for free in our Design Vault along with a bunch of other Canva templates and design tools. Just click here for instant access!

Related Post: Best Canva Features for Editing Templates

Trick #2: Downloading just one page

I usually get this question most when it comes to my social media templates such as my pin templates (side note: there are FREE pin templates located in the Design Library!). This also comes in handy when you want to save a cover of a workbook separately as a jpg so that you can re-upload it into Canva for mockup images or if you want to upload it to a cover generator like myecovermaker. Either way, this is another really easy trick!

Simply look to the right of the page (or pin) that you want to download to find the “page number”.

Once you find that number, click on “download” and then type in the number of the page to download (see below)

Interested in social media templates? Like I said, there are pin templates, Facebook image templates, instagram templates and so much more located inside the Design Library. Plus, you can find pin templates in our DiyDesign Creators Vault (Canva only), The Mega Pin Creator Bundle (Canva + PicMonkey), or The Complete Blogger Template Toolkit (Canva + PicMonkey), AND you can also find even more pin templates in both Canva + Adobe Photoshop format in my Graphic Design Workshop.

Trick #3: Selecting an object BEHIND another object without moving it out of the way

This one is a game changer for SO many people (it was for me!).

Have you ever tried to click on something and there’s a text box or object in the way and you end up clicking the wrong thing? Yeah, you’re not alone.

But there’s a super simple trick for this and it’s one of the many tricks I cover in my Confidently Canva course but I’ll let you in on it here…

The command key! (or ctrl key for PC users)

Simply click on the object. If something else gets selected, hold down the command (or ctrl) key and click again (WHILE holding that key). This will select the object that’s behind that first object.

If the one you’re trying to select is way in the back, you might have to keep holding command (or ctrl) and clicking. Each time you click while holding that key, it’s going to select the next object in the back.

Check out this video demonstration of my favorite Canva Tips and Tricks (it’s so much easier to show than to explain!)

Trick #4: Moving objects just a teeny tiny bit

I get this question a LOT in regards to positioning text just right so that it’s perfectly lined up. When you move the text boxes around with your mouse sometimes it’s hard to get it just right.

But if you click just outside of the text box, you’ll notice that there’s a little cross arrow that looks like this:

When that symbol appears, click again. You’ll know it worked because you will not be able to type in that text box anymore.

Note: This is only necessary when trying to move a text box. If you want to move a shape or other object, you only need to click once.

Finally, use your arrow keys on your keyboard to move the object just 1px. It’s incredibly easy to get it lined up just right doing it that way!

Side note: you can also hold down the shift key and use the arrow keys if you want to move the object 10px. You can go back to that video in the previous tip and watch me do this at 09:08.

Trick #5: Adding a Shadow to a Cut-Out Image

This is super simple now that Canva has added the shadow feature (it works for all images- stock photos or ones you upload!)

For this example, I’ll use both! First, you’ll add whatever image you want to use. If it’s not already cut-out you can use pixlr.com, remove.bg or one of the many online sources for removing backgrounds. (If you have Canva Pro, just use their background remover!)

Next, you’ll click on “Effects” and choose the shadow you wish to apply.

Note: If you’ve never used shadows, you’ll find it under the “you may like” section and Canva will walk you through the integration (It’s easy, you’ll just click a button that says “connect”)

From there, you can click on the shadow button again to open up more options.

You can also choose from different kinds of shadows! For the second image, I chose to add a drop shadow.

Of course, if you’re looking to give a image like a cover design or one of your printable pages a shadow, you can do that inside Canva using the same method but if you’d like to how it’s done check out this post !

Trick #6: Create a project with more than 100 pages

It’s time to throw a party!!! Canva 2.0 now has a NEW PAGE LIMIT of 100 pages!!! Finally, you can create a document with more than 30 pages!!

But- what if your project exceeds 100 pages?

Don’t panic! Simply start a new project, use copy and paste to move over your layout for consistency and then keep going.

As a mac user, I use preview to merge my pages. (Don’t worry, I’ll talk about PC users in one minute!)

Simply open each document in preview. If you don’t already see the thumbnail views on the side, go to “View” and choose “Thumbnails”

Next, drag and drop the pages you want to add from the second document into the first one. If you want to select multiple pages you can do this by clicking on the first one, holding shift and then clicking on the second. This will select all the pages in between and you can drag and drop all of them at once.

You can also reorder pages by draging and dropping the thumbnails in the order that you want.

For PC users, there is this awesome free online tool called ilovepdf.com. You do NOT have to download anything to your computer and it is 100% free. Simply upload both of your documents and then choose the “merge PDF” option.

Side note: I often use ilovepdf for turning PDFs from courses I take into word documents so that I can type right in the document.

There are so many simple Canva Design Tips & Tricks!

I love figuring out those little hacks, and there are so many more I could literally spend all day doing this!

If you’re looking to learn ALL the Canva tricks as well as in-depth lessons, design lessons, and lessons on how to design social media graphics and printables, check out my Confidently Canva course.

New to Canva? Click here to get started (it’s free!)

Don’t forget to download our Canva Tricks Cheatsheet now!! Just click right here for access to our Design Vault where you can get this cheatsheet and tons of other design resources

GET ACCESS TO THE CANVA TRICKS CHEATSHEET

Multiple Pins: A Guide To Creating and Uploading New Pins for More Traffic

April 7, 2020 by karafidd 1 Comment

Let’s talk about the benefit of making multiple pins that will drive traffic to your blog posts, products, lead magnets, and more. Pins are such a great way to get a quick win and so easy to accomplish! We will also talk about different things we can drive traffic to, the tech aspects of uploading a pin to Pinterest, and recommendations on branding and Pinterest.

I learned pretty quickly that Pinterest was the quickest way to get traffic to my blog.

It didn’t stop there though, I thought “If I can make a pin for a post, I can make a pin for anything!”

Then the recommendation to make multiple pins came out and it was like a light bulb. We all know Pinterest likes new content and it was so overwhelming to think that the only way I’d succeed with Pinterest is to be pumping out new posts everyday.

That was not going to happen with my business model or the time that I had to work on my blog while being a stay at home parent to two kiddos.

Want to save this post? Pin it for later!!

Find out exactly why it's SO important that you create and upload multiple pins for your blog posts and landing pages so you can drive more traffic and generate more money online!

When I learned that Pinterest still counts new DESIGNS as new content I literally did a happy dance. Win-win! I could make pretty designs and get more traffic and make Pinterest happy all at once.

Well, I LIKE to design and I still found it time consuming to be constantly trying to make new pins, which is when the Mega Pin Creators Ultimate Bundle came to be (yes, I use my own Canva pin templates ALL THE TIME).

But more than that, I learned that I needed to be really strategic about the things I was sending traffic to.

Did my post do a good job of getting people in my funnel?

Did my pin have a high ROI (in other words, did I see a return on investment– did I make a sale or land a new lead?)

Before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s dive into the basics.

Why Make Multiple Pins?

Well, as I mentioned, it’s a easy way to create “new” content on Pinterest without actually having to create a new blog post. I’m not saying stop creating blog posts, but some seasons of blogging (like during a launch or creating a digital product) can become overwhelming if you’re trying to do all the things.

That being said, there are some other reasons why you may want to create multiple pins for not only your blog posts but your landing pages as well:

You never know what might grab someone, switching up the design and rewording the title just a bit could be the difference between a failed pin and a viral one
It’s a great way to revive a old post especially if you’ve recently updated it
It increases the number of times your content is on Pinterest which means more eyes and more potential for clicks (aka: traffic!)

How do you upload multiple pins to pinterest?

There are a few different options here so I’ll break each one down:

Uploading Directly to Pinterest

You don’t always have to put the pins you create in your blog post, you can upload them directly to Pinterest.

I mainly upload directly to Pinterest when I’m uploading pins I’ve created for my opt-ins and products but it’s an option for those that don’t want to load too many images in their post for site speed considerations.

I like to get creative and go off-brand with the pins I upload right to Pinterest. I experiment with different colors, fonts, titles and styles. You never know what’s going to take off so it’s a great way to test different things.

Pro-Tip: create a spreadsheet to analyze the pins that do well for you! Do you notice a common word in your title? Do you notice the color palette is more bright, warm, or anything else that’s similar between your well performing pins? Do more of what works!

To upload directly to Pinterest, you’ll click on “Create” and choose “Create a pin”

how to upload a pin directly to pinterest

Then you’ll upload your image, title, and all the information as directed by Pinterest in the appropriate spot:

Uploading to Your Blog Post

I choose to upload my other pin options to the bottom of my post. I usually don’t go beyond 3 in the actual post but I’ll add the new images to the bottom and include a CTA (call to action) and ask people to save the article by pinning it.

I find the best way to get people to pin is by:

Making the pin visible- if there’s no visible image in your post then people will not think to pin it
Asking them! The best way to get people to take ANY action is by asking!

Once I get to the point of 3 or more pins I’ll start “hiding them”.

To upload your pin directly to your blog post, simply add a new block, and choose image. From there, you can upload directly or add it from your media library.

uploading an image to your blog post in WordPress

Hiding Your Pin in Your Blog Post

People tend to choose this option for a couple of reasons:

They want a pinnable image that can be shared but it’s a landing page or sales page so the pin image wouldn’t make sense on the actual page
They don’t want to clutter up their post with tons of pins

Instead of pinning directly to pinterest, where it will go off into the pinterest universe, this option allows people to continually pin it from your actual post.

When they click on your share button, the image will come up as an option but they won’t see it in your post. I do not recommend doing this to ALL your pins because, as I said earlier, it’s easier for people to remember to pin when they see an image to pin!

If you need more help with learning how to hide your pin, check out this helpful article I found from Tracie Fobes!

The other option for hiding your pin is by using plugins such as Grow by MediaVine or Social Pug.

Let’s talk about all the different things you can pin!

I created a list of the different types of pins you could create for your blog!

Blog posts
Resource pages (sometimes called recommendation pages where you put links to affiliate resources or related posts)
Shop pages (Etsy, Shopify, etc)
Individual product pages (sales pages, or product pages on Etsy or Shopify)
Opt-in pages (this is how people scale their funnels.. opt-in page –> tripwire –> email value sequence –> email sales funnel)
Sales pages
Affiliate products (yes, you can create pins for your affiliate products (most affiliate programs allow this) and then add your affiliate link to the pin on Pinterest as long as you follow FTC guidelines and include the fact that it’s an affiliate link in the description)
Facebook groups
Facebook posts or videos (especially if you’re running ads that get shown to people who have seen your videos)
Case study articles
Pre-launch content such as a sign-up for a webinar, challenge, or masterclass

Designing a pin inside of Canva in three easy steps!

It’s SO easy to use a platform like Canva to design your pins, it can take just MINUTES! If you haven’t signed up for Canva yet, get started by clicking here!

Step one: set your dimensions for your pin design. I like to use 1000×1500. This is a 2:3 ratio that Pinterest prefers but the overall image is larger in size so when it’s uploaded to the Pinterest platform it’s less likely to suffer in image quality when compressed by Pinterest.

Step two: Next you’ll add an image related to your post topic. You can search tons of images right inside of Canva!

Step three: Next, click on “Elements” and choose shapes and other elements as the base for your title text!

Step four: Add your headline text! Make sure it inspires people to click to your post by piquing curiosity, promising a transformation, or using hot-words like “easy” or “free” — think of things that YOU click on. For example, I’m much more likely to click on:

“The Most Amazing Cheeseburger Casserole” or “The Easiest Cheeseburger Casserole Your Whole Family Will Love”

Vs.

“How to Make a Cheeseburger Casserole”

Don’t forget to add your logo or blog URL at the bottom of your pin. There are lots of things you can do to help your pin stand out– get creative!

If you’d like a jumping off point when it comes to pin design, check out my templates! The Mega Pin Creator Bundle is a bundle of 60 Pinterest templates. My DiyDesign Creators Vault is a membership program that gives you brand new designs every single month to help you stay ahead of your content creation! You can also try out some of my free designs inside my Design Library!

Let’s wrap up with a list of my best pin tips!

Make multiple pins per post. Not just to your blog posts but also multiple pins for your landing pages, opt-in offers, sales pages, Etsy shops, Shopify stores, Facebook groups.. whatever you want to drive traffic to– put it on Pinterest.. a lot and repeatedly over time.

You can add multiple pins to your posts a few different ways. You can add them to your blog post (sometimes I put them at the bottom of my post) you can use a plugin that allows you to hide the image, you can use code to hide the image, or you can upload the pin directly to Pinterest. I like them at the bottom of my post (at least 1-2) because when people SEE the image, it’s triggered in their mind to pin it– and it also helps to specifically ask them to do so. I NEVER think to pin something on a blog posts I’m reading if I don’t see a pin graphic.

Mix up titles. Your WordPress headlines and the headline on your pin do not need to match. You still need to deliver on what the pin says so make sure it’s relevant. That being said, play the game of “how many times can I say the same thing” because honestly you don’t know what’s going to take off on Pinterest or catch the attention of your target pin users. (another reason for having some extra pins at the bottom of your post)

Images matter, the photos you pick matter because Pinterest has image recognition and will categorize your pin based on the photo. So if it’s irrelevant your pin might be improperly categorized and not shown to the right people.

Keywords matter. Not just ON your pin graphics but the descriptions, headlines, boards, and even your profile page.

Experiment— you will never find what works and be able to do more of that thing unless your constantly testing and tweaking. Do a lot of different styles, mix up titles, colors, fonts, layouts– see what works and then do more.

Photos should be bright, clear, and have warm color accents (red, orange, yellow). Try to find close up images and avoid faces.

Don’t get hung up on replicating.Sometimes a pin takes off and you can try to design other pins exactly the same way and you can’t replicate the success. This happens and it’s ok, sometimes it’s really hard to pinpoint the thing that causes something to take off.

It’s ok to go off-brand on Pinterest and it’s ok to go off-brand for seasonal content. I like to create at least one really branded pin for my “best of” board and for the post itself.. the other pins I just experiment with.

New content doesn’t always mean a new post. When I don’t have time to write a new post, I make a new pin instead.

Clean, simple, easy to read words are best. Forget the 20% text rule (this is a graphic design concept that says only 20% or less of the image should be text– this is a rule Facebook follows as well) sometimes the best pins on Pinterest are pins with almost the entire pin being a big, easy to read title. Likely due to majority of users being on mobile devices.

Don’t give away the farm with your pin. If it’s a list post, don’t put every single product on the pin- I wouldn’t need to clickthrough to find out what’s on the list! Don’t give away the content of your post by the images you choose. Try to find something that makes people curious without being too clickbaity or irrelevant for the sake of clicks.

Speaking of clickbaity– it’s kind of “ok” when it comes to Pinterest. NEVER be clickbaity to the point of your pin title not even being somewhat related to the post, but it’s definitely worth writing titles that create curiosity and spark emotions.

Always solve a problem with your pin/post and try to word your title so that it includes a transformation or promise.

Google analytics is your friend. You’ll be able to find out what pin is sending traffic and keep it going. You’ll also be able to look back and see which pins did great last year– re-pin them and design more for the particular post.

Pin creation doesn’t have to be hard— templates are a great jumping off point 😉

If you’d like to check out my Mega Pin Creators Bundle which is a bundle of 60 pin designs, click here! If you’re constantly making new content and new pins you may want to check out the DiyDesign Creators Vault which will give you new pins and other templates every single month. The templates in this memebership are themed and designed to help you stay ahead of content trends so that you can create the right content before people are searching for it!

New to templates and want to try them out? Sign up for my free design library where you’ll get templates for pins, video pins, worksheets, ebooks and more! Just click the button below for access!

CLICK HERE TO GET ACCESS TO THE FREE DESIGN LIBRARY

Product Launch Graphics: Images You Need to Create When You Launch a Digital Product

January 21, 2020 by karafidd Leave a Comment

In this article, you’ll learn exactly what product launch graphics to create for your next promotion!

Have you grabbed the Product Creators QuickStart Kit yet? Just sign up below and you’ll get my checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template for free so you can get started creating a digital product for your blog!

GET YOUR QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

Over the past three years I’ve helped bloggers design and launch digital products. I’ve designed and launched dozens of my OWN digital products and I’ve done launches, flash sales.. pretty much ALL the promotions.

I’ve tested and tweaked and learn so much about marketing. I’ve taken all of that knowledge and combined it with my graphic design background to create a product creation system.

Within that system, I teach about product design itself and also the design of promotional graphics. In this article, I’d like to go over the different types of graphics that you can create to promote your launch!

The 3-D Mockup or Preview Image

Show people what you’ve created with a 3-D mockup. I use myecovermaker (not required but totally worth it!) to create these. I also put together a quick video tutorial on how to put together the whole image.

Mockups are important because it can give people a better sense of what your digital product is and if the graphic is visually appealing, it will work to grab their attention and increase conversions.

People tend to put less value on digital products because it’s not a tangible thing, it’s not something they can hold in their hands.

I know your content rocks, so present it that way visually!

If you present the product in 3-D mockup, people will be able to visualize better what it really is. Plus, make sure to always present the fact that it’s digital as a positive thing. There’s no shipping costs and they get it immediately! No snail mail!

The Promotional Graphics

Before you determine exactly what promotional graphics you’ll need- you’ll first need a launch plan. How in depth are you going to go? Is it a pre-sale or baby seed launch where you are only going to put it out to your email list for beta testers or are you going all out and selling it to the world?

How about pre-launch? Are you going to offer some sort of free training, webinar, or other list building technique prior to the launch? Because you’ll need graphics for that too.

Here are some promotional graphics you may need to consider:

Free training or webinar promotion
Launch bonuses promotion (if offering bonuses to buyers)
Early bird or time-sensitive offers
Facebook images/ads for both the free training ad the actual product
Pinterest images/ads for both the free training and the actual product
Social media headers (yep, you’ll want to switch your header to something promotional during your launch)

The great thing is that you can create all of these using free design programs like Canva!

Keep in mind that if you have affiliates, you’ll want to give them access to some or all of these graphics for their own promotions leading up to and during your launch. I sent my affiliates an email with a google doc folder with my promo images.

Side note: The Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox contains done-for-you templates for every single one of these designs PLUS the affiliate center templates, sales page copy, sales launch copy, and so much more. It’s an entire product design and launch plan that’s been “templatized” for you so you can customize to every product you create.

Free training or webinar

I resisted this at first because I was afraid to put myself out there. I’m an introvert and don’t like being on video.

But I KNEW I had to put myself out there when it came to launching. If I didn’t, I was only hurting myself. Pre-launch is really important and in some cases can make or break your whole launch.

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS POST FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE BOARD! ⬇

When I was ready for my first launch, I came up with a challenge that incorporated video training. As you have probably heard me say a million times: success only comes with implementation.

Since I was selling Canva templates, I wanted people to use them so they can discover the true awesome-ness that *is* done-for-you, professionally designed templates. I knew once people got a little sample, they would see the benefits for themselves.

They would discover how much of a time saver they could be, they would see the difference between their current graphics and the ones they could create with my templates.

But I wanted people to learn too.

Value, value, value.

And it paid off because the response I got was seriously mind-blowing.

Not only were people signing up left and right (seriously, I was about to grow my list by 339 new subscribers over 4 days)– this was without the use of Facebook ads.

People continued signing up all week! Even though unsubscribe rates are a bit higher during a product launch (that’s totally normal and OK) I still ended launch week with over 400+ subscribers I didn’t have prior. So I urge you to give this a shot! It’s fun and so worth it.

But again, you’ll need to create the graphics for it– which includes:

Slide decks for the training/webinar portion (BTW there’s a slide deck template in the Essential Template Pack for Launching a Product at the end of this post! It’ll be the fastest webinar you’ll ever design!)
Any actionable items to go along with the training– workbooks, worksheets, checklists, etc.
Promo images (as listed above)

I recorded my training by downloading the slide decks as a PDF and opening them in full-screen mode. I used a screen record program called Capto (for mac) and also edited and downloaded the video using Capto.

Videos

Videos are a big part of the visual world that is social media today. During a product launch or even a flash sale promotion, there are usually a few different ways I use video

Facebook lives (and promoted them with a graphic)
Promotional videos of my product
Convert product-centered blog posts into video using Animoto or Lumen5

This is in addition, of course, to any video training or sales page videos.

I personally am not a fan of being in front of the camera. However, when I started Simplifying DIY Design (not my first blog) I promised myself I’d put myself out there more because I knew if I didn’t, then I wouldn’t succeed.

Even if it was scary.

Even if I didn’t want to do it.

Even if I was going to lose sleep over it.

And I did it, and I’ve never turned back.

The graphics matter.

Launches are scary. I’m going to be honest. I got very little sleep the few weeks I was working on this launch.

Side note: giving yourself 3 weeks to plan, create, and implement a launch– even if you already have your product done– is pushing it. #askmehowiknow

What if I did all this work and no one bought it? What if I cut back client work and decreased my income and it didn’t pay off? What if I put it out there, people bought it and it didn’t help?

These were the things that kept me up. These were the things that made me want to give up.

But I kept pushing.

Because if it was easy then I wasn’t pushing hard enough, right?

I promise you, it was so completely worth it. Every single second was worth it.

But the graphics matter. I honestly didn’t have all of the above prepared before my first launch🤦‍♀️. I didn’t even think of half of the graphics I listed above!

But readers asked for preview images, affiliates asked for promo graphics, potential buyers asked for videos. So I created them and learned from it and made sure to pay attention to what was working and what wasn’t.

Because it’s extremely time consuming and almost overwhelming at times, I made sure to have templates for every single design I needed to do so that I could save time.

Additional Resources:

Easy 4-Step Framework For Creating and Launching A Successful Digital Product (Free Masterclass Training!)
Product Design Planner

Don’t forget to grab the Product Creators QuickStart Kit! Just sign up below and you’ll get my checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva design template for free so you can get started creating a digital product for your blog!

GET YOUR QUICKSTART KIT NOW!

3 Ways Bloggers Can Save Time Using Stock Photography

January 17, 2020 by karafidd 2 Comments

Stock photos are SO important to blogging: they increase traffic, conversions, and provide beautiful and professional brand consistency. In this article you’ll learn the absolute BEST ways that bloggers can not only save time using stock photography, but money too!

This is a guest post by Amy Cameron from Hello Stock Photography! See the end of the article for more information about her, her company, and how you can get free stock photos!

It’s such a common mistake: We start a business or a blog and think that if we build it, they will come. I did it too!

And then, crickets…at least until we figure out this whole marketing thing! We pour into social media, and SEO, and #allthethings. And 87 hours a week later…we’re doing it!

BUT, didn’t we start this business to free up our schedule? Not kill it?

Today, I have three ways that stock photography can save you time and money.

Want to save this post for later? Be sure to pin it!

#1: Make Templates Even Faster!

I guess you probably knew this one was coming, right? When you have good quality templates like Kara’s along with beautiful stock photography, you can literally cut hours out of your creation process.

Choose a stock photography collection and everything will flow and look great–with no time spent agonizing!

Plus, high resolution stock photography can be cropped to fit different needs. For example, if you like a horizontal photograph but need a vertical photo for a particular layout, you can still use the photo. With low resolution photos, you will end up with poor quality photos if you crop very much (or at all!)

From This:

To This:

#2: As Backgrounds for Social Media Quotes & Stories

I don’t know about all of you, but Instagram stories is a place where I tend to struggle at times to think of content. On those days when I feel extra stuck, I simply use stock photos as backgrounds for my polls, quotes, or questions.

It takes a few seconds to download them, add some text, and share. Bonus: I’m staying consistent and on brand for my audience.

#3: Simplify a Cohesive Feed on Instagram

I hear over and over again the struggle to create a cohesive, on brand feed for social media, and especially Instagram.

Here is one of the simplest solutions that I recommend. Choose 2-3 collections of stock photos and then interweave your own business photos throughout. The feed then ends up looking like this.

For example, on my @hellostockphotos feed, right now, I am using our Rose Gold Office, Typewriter, and Warm Winter Comforts Collections.

I occasionally add in a custom photo too. So, since the collections already look great together, the feed works fairly easily and takes just minutes to plan.

Pro Tip: One thing I like to do is alternate light or white backgrounds with darker backgrounds for a subtle pattern.

I love how easy planning this feed is!

I hope you’ve found at least one way you can save precious moments today. If you’d like 10 free stock photos to try out this week, head over to Hello Stock Photography and sign up for our freebie at the bottom of the page!

About the author

My name is Amy Cameron and I’ve been a professional photographer for almost 15 years. Recently, I realized the demand for good photography that business requires takes more time and money than many business owners can put into it. BUT, without a consistent social media presence, most businesses don’t grow like they could. This is where my stock photography solution–Hello Stock Photography was born.

Hello Stock Subscriptions are now available for pre-launch at 25% off (until January 31, 2020) and allow you access to every photo and caption prompt we offer!

The Easy Way To Plan Your Digital Product Design

January 9, 2020 by karafidd 2 Comments

Learn exactly how to plan your next product design the easy way! We will go over branding, inspiration, and the exact design process I use when designing a digital product!

The content in this article is a overview of the step by step process detailed in our FREE Product Design Planner! Just Click this link and let me know where to send it (or click the button below)!

GET THE PRODUCT DESIGN PLANNER FREE!

The easy way to plan your next digital product design!

This is a process I’ve practiced and practiced since back in high school when I attended graphic design classes! Fun fact, I passed my state certification for graphic design before I even graduated!

It’s something I’ve practiced and perfected with clients and myself when I started making digital products for my business. I get asked a lot about where to start and where to begin when it comes to making digital products (or lead magnets, printables, etc).

I wanted to break down the process and actually step it out in an actionable way inside a planner that you can use each and every time you design your digital product. You can grab that planner here for free!

Let’s dive in!

Learn how to plan your next (or first) digital product design! This is my step by step process for branding and designing digital products that you can start implementing for your blog right away!!

Determining your products brand

Most of the time you will be sticking with your own branding that you’ve already established for your blog but every once and awhile you may choose to go off-brand.

A common reason that online marketers choose to go off-brand is for seasonal content.

Related: if you’d like to learn more about how to go off-brand for your seasonal content, click right here to read my article!

In any case, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got a good sense of both the verbal and visual brand for your digital product design.

Verbal Brand

Establishing the verbal brand for your product means:

Name of the product
Slogan or tagline
Story of why creating it was important to you
Tone of voice
Style of language

Visual Brand

Establishing a visual brand for your product means:

Product logo
Fonts
Color palette
Imagery and other graphics
Campaigns (marketing graphics)

You may or may not have all of these different elements depending on the size of the project you’re working on. For example, a lead magnet or tripwire product wouldn’t require it’s own logo but a signature course would!

Most of the time you’ll be using the same fonts and colors as the overall visual brand of your blog but there may be exceptions as stated earlier (like seasonal content) that may mean going off brand.

The imagery used in your digital product should be minimal but complement your content. Remember that most of the time: less is more. However, attractive visual elements can help your product stand out from others and improve user experience.

You’ll want to make sure any image or clipart you use in your product can be used in products to sell (unless you’re creating a freebie). Commercial free or extended license clipart can be found on sites like Creative Market, Design Bundles, and Pixabay.

Inspiration Session

Once you’ve established the visual and verbal brand for your product, you’ll move onto your inspiration session. During an inspiration session, I like to make a list of all the words associated with my product or topic that I’m working on.

Then, I go to Pinterest, Creative Market, and Google Image and then type in each of those words along with the project I’m working on. For example, if a word is “family fun” and the product you’re working on is a workbook then you’d type in “family fun workbook” and see what comes up.

You can also search other things like “family fun design ideas” or “family fun logo ideas”. With each of these searching, make a note of design, colors, fonts and anything else you like AND don’t like about what you see.

Also be sure to make a note about WHY you do or don’t like it. This will give you a jumping off point.

Side note: Never, EVER copy a design or a product!! This is strictly to give you an ideal of what styles you like. It’s to give you a jumping off point when it comes to your project design.

Start the Design Process for your digital product

Now that you have all the visual elements picked out for your brand, you’ll move onto the actual design process.

Note: In my free Product Design Planner, I’ll walk you through establishing your verbal and visual brand, the things you need to consider, and also different design elements like how to select fonts and colors and use white space. Just click here to download the planner for free.

Get the free digital product design planner and plan out your next digital product design the easy way!!

Outline Your Content

Once I’ve established my branding, I start outlining and writing my written content so that everything can be proofread and finalized.

This is MUCH easier than trying to re-align your layout when adding a word or sentece you’ve forgotten and findinng out that everything has shifted unexpectedly.

Plan Your Layout

I always start with a piece of paper and a pencil. I create a map and sketch my ideas for the actual layout of the prodcut. This is much easier to visualize once I’m staring at the screen (or my product template) so I can see how everything will fit and flow.

Here are some tips for sketching your layout:

Group information using design
Keep basic design foundations in mind
Make notes and boxes where visual elements will go
Use a pencil for this process
Keep it simple and don’t overthink it!

I still sketch my layout when using a design template, but looking at the template first REALLY helps! That way I can determine on the paper what content I need to include. Then, I look at the template as a jumping off point of where things will go. I’ll decide if I need to add any visual elements, color blocks, or sections to the original template to complete my layout in the way that best fits my content.

Finally, Start Designing Your Product!

It’s time to finally move your design from paper to the screen! You’ll need to decide on your design platfrom of choice. I highly recommend:

Canva (free or paid versions)
Adobe InDesign

As I mentioned earlier, the Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox has done-for-you designs for not only products but for promotion campagins as well!

Don’t forget to grab the FREE Product Design Planner so you can start implementing this process right away! Just Click this link and let me know where to send it (or click the button below)!

GET THE PRODUCT DESIGN PLANNER FREE!

The Best Tools for Creating and Selling Digital Products

January 2, 2020 by karafidd 3 Comments

In this article, I’ll go over my top recommended tools for creating and selling digital products and how I use them in my business.

If you’d like to grab my free Product Creators QuickStart Kit, just click here and I’ll send it right over! Inside you’ll find a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva product template to help you plan, design, and launch your first (or next) digital product!

CLICK HERE TO GRAB THE FREE KIT!

There are so many tools for creating and selling digital products!

This is a question I get asked a lot! There are so many tools out there, it can be so overwhelming. Sometimes things we thought would be game-changing end up being disappointing (and a huge waste of money).

This happens all the time and I honestly feel like I’ve tried every tool under the sun to make my sales process efficient (without overcomplicating it)!

A common mistake I made in the beginning was that I just didn’t want to spend the money. I didn’t have much and that really paralyzed me. I quickly learned that not only was there a way to sell product inexpensively but I also learned that you DO have to invest in your business if you want to grow.

If you're looking for the must have tools for creating and selling digital products easily then you must check out this post! These tools are so essential for an automated and passive sales process (and a great customer experience too!!) Win-win!!

Not only will the right tools save you time (because you won’t be dealing with so many customer service issues) but it’s also really important for user experience. If your customers are frustrated or get confused during the checkout or post-purchase experience it can greatly affect whether the purchase is repeated or if the customer will come back again.

Again, this doesn’t have to cost a ton and there are a lot of easy to use tools out there that don’t require a massive learning curve or investment. I’ll go over my favorite ones and give you some alternative options as well!

Side note: if you’re curious about how all of this comes together in your actual sales funnel check out this article >> The Ultimate Guide To Designing a Sales Funnel That Converts

Email Service Provider: Convertkit

I’d like to start with talking about email service providers as an important product selling tool. The reason being is that your LIST is who you will sell to.

And even more than that, they will help you actually create your product idea and your email list will also fuel consistent sales.

With your email service provider you will:

Set up an email list
Build and nurture that email list
Get to know them and how you can help them
Survey them and use their answers to develop your product idea, the product content, and the product promotional content as well (A process detailed in The Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox)
You’ll then sell (or “launch”) the product to them via email broadcasts
Then, you’ll automate future sales with automated email sequences

All of this happens within your email service provider, so you’ll need a good one with excellent deliverability and features. My favorite is Convertkit!

I use and love Convertkit because not only is it easy to use but it helps me tag people based on actions and purchases they make, set up visual automations and funnels, and the deliverability far outweighs other providers I’ve tried in the past (ActiveCampaign and Mailchimp)

Creating and selling digital products can mean passive income for bloggers and other entrepreneurs! Make sure you have the RIGHT tools to get the job done!

If the price tag makes you nervous, an alternative I recommend is Mailerlite. Just remember, your email service provider is going to be one of the best and most important investments you’ll make for your business!

Your Design Platform: Adobe InDesign or Canva

There is a reason that I have two different recommendations here: I strongly believe that the platform you use doesn’t make or break your product.

I’ve never had a problem with “product quality” when using Canva and I’ve created many, many products in Canva including products that have generated six-figures for the client in just months of being launched.

Marketing messages from people teaching certain platforms might make you think you need fancy programs if you want to make sales and if you truly want to learn them then that’s great! But remember, a fancy platform is not required to make money or impact with your digital product.

What IS required is value and great content! If using a platform you already know and are comfortable with will help you get your product out there making an impact with your audience faster than use it!!

Canva is my recommendation for a super-easy-to-use design platform! Like I said, I’ve designed everything from workbooks, planners, course slide deck presentations, and so much more using this platform and it’s FREE!! It does have a paid plan (which is worth it’s weight in gold) but it’s not required to actually get your product designed.

If you’d like to learn more about how to use Canva, please check out my FREE Canva 2.0 QuickStart course!

If you are interested in Adobe products, InDesign is Adobe’s program for creating layout design. Layout design is a graphic design term for things like workbooks, planners, ebooks, magazines, etc (basically, any kind of PDF download or “printable” product).

The Product Creators Ultimate Toolbox includes done for you product design templates for both Canva and Adobe InDesign. Templates are a great way to get your product designed fast and professionally with less time and money. They provide the very best jumping off point for the creative process of designing your product!

Your Page Builder: LeadPages or Elementor

In addition to LeadPages or Elementor, there IS a third recommendation as well– if you’re digital product is a course then I highly recommend Teachable and the page building function on Teachable works wonderfully too.

The thing I want to stress most about using a page builder is that the capability of creating a professional and high converting sales page, opt-in page (or any page in your funnel honestly) is MUCH higher than if you were to create a general page on your blog.

Having a professionally built sales page helps establish trust, authority, and lets your potential buyer know that you have the tools you need to have in order to ensure they have a secure transaction.

Creating, designing, and sell digital products requires the right tools! These are my must-have resources to make it easy to create and sell a digital product fast!

While copyrighting and visual elements do play a role in creating a sales page that converts, having the tools to present a professional page is important as well.

LeadPages is my favorite tool and one I use personally for Simplifying DIY Design. I also use Teachable but choose to design my pages using LeadPages and then integrate them. This allows me to do a lot more like tripwire pages, countdown timers, etc than I could with the Teachable platform alone.

Another great option is Elementor which is a free WordPress plugin. This plugin does have a very low cost paid option which is definitely worth it as you’ll get access to features like forms and countdown timers but the free version of Elementor is all that’s necessary to set up a professional landing page. You can even check out my Elementor Templates if you’re looking for a designed-for-you option for building the pages in your funnel.

Your selling platform

This will likely vary depending on the digital product you are selling.

If you are selling a PDF product (like a printable, workbook, journal, planner, etc) then I highly recommend either Shopify or Sendowl.

Either option works wonderfully. I like Shopify if you are looking to have a full shop. It’s very easy to use and looks extremely professional. There are also far fewer customer service issues than I experienced when I tried using something like WooCommerce.

As your business grows you’ll notice that the time spent answering customer service issues becomes extremely valuable so you’ll want tools that limit those issues as much as possible!

Sendowl is great if you are using mainly landing pages (instead of an entire shop) so if you only have a couple of products or if you have a email funnel set up and you are sending people to a specific page instead of a shop.

Passive income has been game-changing for my business! But to efficiently create and sell digital products, I needed the RIGHT tools-- here are my must haves that any blogger needs to know about!

Side note: sending people to a specific page will always convert the best but shop pages are great to send general traffic to from your blog as well.

Shopify does have a “lite” plan that will essentially do the same thing as sendowl- it will process payments and deliver your digital product but you won’t have a full shop. Instead, you’ll generate a checkout url and use that on the buy buttons of your landing page.

As mentioned, the benefit of these platforms is that you can integrate PayPal and a stripe account (both free tools) and the platform will process the payment securely, deliver the digital product to your customer, and deposit the money in your account. It’s all automated, you don’t have to do anything.

You’ll also be able to integrate these things with Convertkit so that you can send your customers a post-purchase email sequence and tag them so you know who your purchasers are.

If you’re selling courses, I highly recommend Teachable

Courses are a bit different than digital products, and Teachable has been my favorite of the platforms I’ve tried. I like that there is a free plan and that you can do things like:

Duplicate your courses instantly
Offer free courses (lead magnets)
Customize your “thank you page” url — meaning you can have a tripwire on free courses or upsell sales pages on paid courses
Add tracking codes or other information to specific pages in the checkout process
It’s really easy to use on both the creators end and the customers end
It can be integrated with LeadPages really easily

Teachable also integrates with stripe and PayPal to process payments and with Convertkit to tag new purchases and send post-purchase email sequences.

There are many tools when it comes to creating and selling digital products easily but these are by far my must-haves!

As with anything, you will try different tools and you will set up your own processes that work for you. Personally, the tools I mentioned above are my must-haves and I wouldn’t be able to do my job nearly as efficiently (or maybe even at all) without them!

Don’t forget to grab my free Product Creators QuickStart Kit, just click here and I’ll send it right over! Inside you’ll find a checklist, cheatsheet, and Canva product template to help you plan, design, and launch your first (or next) digital product!